Parks districts try to balance need for recreation with public safety

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(Nhat V. Meyer / Bay Area New Group/2006)A hiker and his dog are seen here on a trail in the Fremont Older Open Space Preserve.The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District is planning to ask voters June 3 to vote on a $300 million bond measure. The bond funds could go towards as many as 25 projects throughout the district.

Fitness centers, gyms, golf courses, public pools, zoos and campgrounds across the Bay Area area are closed.

But as millions of people remain confined to their homes due to the coronavirus — often with children home from school — there has been broad confusion about whether it’s legal to go for a walk in parks to get relief with fresh air and exercise.

Simply put, the answer is yes. But you have to do it carefully.

As of Thursday, it remains legal to hike, mountain bike or ride horses in parks and open space preserves run by Bay Area cities, county parks agencies, and regional open space districts, and to travel to those places.

“We’ve been getting a lot of calls. People are saying ‘Are your parks still open? We won’t touch anything,’” said Tamara Clark, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department. “People have been confused. The parks are open. Come out and enjoy them.”

There are some limits, however. Don’t expect restrooms or trash cans. And don’t hike in groups.

The shelter-in-place orders that health officers in the Bay Area and neighboring counties like Santa Cruz have issued in recent days all specifically define outdoor recreation as an “essential activity” similar to leaving home to buy groceries or to go to the doctor. The orders state that “by way of example and without limitation, walking, hiking, or running” can be done — with the key requirement that people stay six feet or more away from each other.

As a result, major parks, including Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, Lake Merritt in Oakland and Guadalupe River Park in San Jose, remain open. Trails and parking lots at East Bay Regional Park District, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Santa Clara Valley Open Space District and other agencies are open.

But, as with most things coronavirus, it’s complicated.

Parks directors are juggling how to balance the public’s need to get outside, exercise and reduce stress with concerns about not spreading COVID-19 or compromising the safety of park rangers and maintenance employees.

“It’s spring. It’s beautiful. People who have been sequestered with their kids indoors are claustrophobic,” said Bob Doyle, general manager of the East Bay Regional Park District, which is the nation’s largest regional park district with 73 parks and 126,000 acres in Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

“Getting outside, seeing the sky, getting fresh air make life better,” he said. “Parks are a relief from the stress and bad news.”

But Doyle said that it’s critical people that people not hike in groups, or walk dogs in groups, or congregate together in parking lots.

“We are doing the best we can,” he said. “But if in a week we see that the parks are overcrowded . . . the health department may close them down. We have to watch the spread of this virus. It is unprecedented.”

In many areas, restrooms are closed and drinking water fountains are shut down. Trash is being collected less frequently. That’s because some managers and public employee unions have raised concerns about the safety of workers who have to clean facilities, particularly when many parks agencies don’t have large amounts of masks, gloves and other safety equipment.

“Go to the bathroom before you head out,” said Andrea Mackenzie, general manager of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, in San Jose. “Bring your water with you. Keep your distance from other people. But enjoy yourself. Enjoy the views. Nature is a safe haven. It can provide relief.”

Most parks agencies — including national parks like Yosemite and California’s state parks system — have closed visitor centers, ended docent tours and shuttered museums and campgrounds, while leaving trails open.

Parks managers are also limiting where people congregate to watch sunsets. The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority now is closing Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve at 5 p.m. daily, instead of leaving it open half an hour past sunset, as a safety precaution to stop too many cars from assembling on its parking lot in the Diablo Range during sunsets.

The agency also is leaving gates open, so people don’t have to touch them.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, which operates 26 preserves over 65,000 acres in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, has kept its properties open and is encouraging people, if possible, to bring hand sanitizer, and to hike on more remote trails.

The district is considering temporary closures at popular areas like the summit of Mount Umunhum or Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve in Cupertino if they become too crowded at times, said district spokesperson Leigh Ann Gessner.

“If areas are reaching capacity, rangers will intermittently close them,” she said. “We have vast acreages with many miles of trails. Check out some of the preserves that you’ve never been to.”

The situation is changing regularly. On Thursday, Santa Clara County officials announced they would waive entrance fees, normally $6 a vehicle, at county parks. Across the Bay Area, parks officials recommend visitors check their websites before heading out, because of the changing nature of the coronavirus pandemic.

But overall, psychologists are encouraging people to get outside regularly — as long as they hike or walk six feet apart — even just for a quick stroll down the sidewalk, or to toss a ball in the back yard with kids.

“People are glued to the news or binging on shows,” said Ryan Reese, an assistant professor of counseling at Oregon State University-Cascades in Bend. “They are stressed out. There are a lot of unknowns about how long they are going to be jammed up in their apartments and houses. Studies show that getting out in nature has stress-reducing effects.”

Reese recommends to his patients who are struggling with depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder and other issues that they spend time in nature as part of their treatment.

During the coronavirus outbreak, he suggests people spend at least 15 to 30 minutes every other day outside — and to be mindful of the surroundings.

“When you are out there, instead of being glued to your iPhone, notice what’s around you,” he said. “Look at the trees, the plants, the sky. Make the most of the time. That’s going to help people maximize the benefits.”

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings,” naturalist John Muir wrote in 1894 in his book “The Mountains of California.” “Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

It’s as true then as today, Reese said. Only these days, make sure to wash your hands.